Volleyball bounces back

After losing their first two matches of the Northwest Challenge to Boise State University and the University of Washington, the Gonzaga volleyball team bounced back to finish the tournament on a good note, pulling out a gutsy 3-2 victory over Portland State University Saturday evening in the Martin Centre to improve to 4-3 on the year.

The Bulldogs lost the first set of the Portland State match 25-22, but then proceeded to win the second and third sets 25-20 and 25-22, respectively.  However, despite leading 24-17 in the fourth set and being one point away from winning the match, Gonzaga simply could not seal the deal, as the Vikings scored nine straight points to take the set 26-24.  In such a situation, it would have been easy to let the frustration of squandering such a big lead carry over into the next set, but Gonzaga kept their composure and won the fifth and final set by a score of 15-10.

"Losing such a lead and losing that set was very upsetting," said senior outside hitter Laura Day.  "But we stepped off the court and washed it off.  We huddled together as a team and said how unacceptable that was, how we all need to take care of our own jobs, and then forgot about it.  There was nothing we could do about it anymore, so we used our frustration and anger to [get] the job done in the fifth set.  We came together as a team and had determination that could not be stopped."

Gonzaga was led by the superb play of Day and fellow senior Denise Van de Mortel, who both recorded double-doubles for the fourth consecutive match.  Day finished with a career-high 19 kills and a match-high 16 digs, while Van de Mortel, her setter, had 47 assists and 12 digs.

"I couldn't be successful without Deni [Van de Mortel] because she makes me look good," said Day.  "She gives me great sets from wherever she is on the court."

Van de Mortel also credited her teammates for much of her success, "digging balls is easy to do when everyone else is doing their job," she said.

Not to be outdone, sophomore Meredith Crenshaw posted career-high 13 blocks, which ranks as the third most blocks in a single game in Gonzaga history.

Meanwhile, the Zags were very competitive Friday night against Boise State, but ultimately lost to the Broncos 3-1.  Gonzaga held an 18-16 lead in the first set, but Boise State ended up coming back to win 25-23.  In the second set, the never-say-die Bulldogs came back from an 18-12 deficit and tied the set at 21.  Then, with their backs against the wall and trailing 24-22, Gonzaga won the next two points to once again tie it up.  However, the Broncos responded by winning the following two points to take the set.  Trailing 2-0 in the match, Gonzaga stormed to a 25-16 third set victory, finishing the set on a 13-4 run. In the fourth set, the Bulldogs lost another heartbreaker—this time a 25-23 loss that gave Boise State the match win.

However, despite the loss, Van de Mortel had 43 assists and 13 digs, and Day posted 13 kills and 12 digs.  Also, sophomore Kristina Lavrisha put together a season-high 23 digs.

On Saturday afternoon, Gonzaga nearly took the first set against eighth-ranked Washington, losing a heartbreaker 27-25.  The mighty Huskies then proceeded to take the next two sets to complete the 27-25, 25-15, 25-20 sweep.

The Northwest Challenge is a four-year, four-team round robin tournament between Boise State, Gonzaga, Portland State and Washington that began in 2008.  Each year, a different school hosts the event; and this year, the final year of the tournament, it is Gonzaga's turn.  All matches were played in the Martin Centre.

Next up for the Bulldogs is the Hoosier Classic hosted by Indiana University, which begins this Friday in Bloomington, Ind.